Go For Broke National Education Center announced the winners of its 2016 High School and College Student Essay, Poetry, and Video Contest on Oct. 1 at the 15th annual Evening of Aloha fundraising dinner, held at Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles.

“The purpose of this essay contest is to challenge the next generation of leaders to find connections to the courage shown by the Japanese American World War II soldiers still relevant in their own lives,” said Mitchell Maki, interim president/CEO of GFBNEC. “Engaging students in this story preserves the history and ensures it does not repeat.

“This year we welcomed the category of poetry. We received 62 outstanding poetry entries that express the author’s connection to the Nisei veteran story. The number of video entries this year doubled, as did the scope of our contest.

“Entries this year came from across the United States, including Hawaii, Illinois, Guam, Minnesota, Florida and Washington. We also received an essay from Israel, truly making our contest international. Overall, we had a total of 204 entries.

“GFBNEC would like to thank our sponsors for making this contest possible. A special thank you to Pacific Global Investment Management Company for continuing to be presenting sponsor this year. Their generous contribution is in memory of long-time philanthropists and business leaders Manabi Hirasaki and Sig Kagawa.

“The contest is also made possible by the generous support of two supporting sponsors: Ken and June Shimabukuro, and an anonymous donor in memory of World War II veteran Masao Takahashi. Without our sponsors, we would not be able to provide this opportunity for students.”

Hirasaki served with the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion, C Battery, and Takahashi with the 100th Infantry Battalion, C Company.

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